July 30, 2014 1:05 pm

Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn gave his thoughts on a few of the down linemen he’s been working with as well as some players in the secondary after Wednesday’s training camp practice. He’s liked what he has seen from defensive linemen Jordan Hill and Jesse Williams. He said Hill got stronger and Williams more mobile during the offseason and it has showed in training camp.

He also spoke about the emergence of cornerback Byron Maxwell and his role taking over the cornerback position opposite of Richard Sherman.

“I think if you had asked any of us, ‘Will Byron Maxwell play well when he gets his opportunity?’ I think we would all agree we would have said ‘Yes.’ ” Quinn said.

Here’s more of what he had to say:

What are Terrell Thomas’ strengths at cornerback? Do you see him working in the slot?

We do, yeah. One thing I think you see is he has length to get his hands on you. SO we are going to try him inside. He has such good lateral quickness so that one of the things we look forward to him from inside when he plays in the nickel. That is one of the spots we will feature him is inside.

How impressed are you with Byron Maxwell?

I wasn’t surprised at all. I think if you had asked any of us, will Byron Maxwell play well when he gets his opportunity, I think we would all agree we would have said ‘Yes.’ I think it’s because of that consistency we saw from him, out at here going after guys day after day, and his playing technique. I think it’s those guys who can continually do it day after day and not have ups and downs, we have confidence with going into a game because if they just continue to do what they’ve been doing, they will be fine. IT’s those players who have inconsistencies, that’s something we can really iron out. But Byron, specifically, had a really consistent training camp last year heading into the season.

What have you seen out of Jordan Hill this camp?

I think an increase in strength. I think it’s hard sometimes to evaluate a lineman during the offseason because all of the practices are going to be in shorts. He worked hard to get stronger so he looked good in spring, we knew he was stronger, but it wasn’t until we got here to get to push against JR Sweezy and James Carpenter, guys who are really strong, until we could really see that increase in strength. He has always had the mindset and attitude to improve. That strength has not only allowed him to be a better run player, but against the pass, too.

What have you seen out of Greg Scruggs?

I’m one of the ones who is so excited, because I wasn’t able to coach him his rookie year because I came in last year and he missed the whole season. Right off the bat, you see the versatility, he has the size to play base end for us and you can slide him inside in the nickel. The other day, in two minute drill, he was one of the guy who was all in down after down and that just showed me his intensity. I think right now what jumps about him is his versatility and how he can play more than one spot on multiple downs.

Have you seen enough from Jesse Williams to be able to tell if he can deliver?

We have. I think the thing going into this camp is can he stay healthy and can he play? One of the things is at the line of scrimmage we can see the strength hasn’t changed but he’s actually got a little bit leaner. So for us, we can’t wait to see what he can do. He is still as strong as he has ever been, but he has got leaner and his mobility is better.

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About

Gregg Bell joined The News Tribune in July 2014. Bell had been the director of writing for the University of Washington's athletic department for four years. He was the senior national sports writer in Seattle for The Associated Press from 2005-10, covering the Seahawks in their first Super Bowl season and beyond. He's also been The Sacramento Bee's beat writer on the Oakland Athletics and Raiders. The native of Steubenville, Ohio, is a 1993 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and a 2000 graduate of the University of California, Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism.

Ha ha! You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders – The most famous of which is “never get involved in a land war in Asia” – but only slightly less well-known is this: “Never go in against Richard Sherman when death is on the line”

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